Friendly Fires, Hockey and Boy Crisis – Kentish Town Forum

Glitter rained down upon Friendly Fires and into a sea of swooning, bedazzled fans as ‘Paris’ brought to a close a remarkable show, a three-pronged attack by a clutch of excellent new bands.

Such now is the allure of the St Albans four-piece that the sizeable Kentish Town Forum was crammed full of hip-swingers, eager to absorb the bullets expertly shot by Friendly Fires. “They’ll be out for us,” bellowed energetic frontman Ed Macfarlane, and out in our droves, we certainly were. Whilst an insurmountable queue for the bar was a no-go, a bustle into the centre of the jostling stage-front was a must. Personal favourites ‘White Diamonds’ and ‘On Board’ pumped and thronged, whilst massive singles ‘Jump in the Pool’ and ‘Skeleton Boy’ shuddered and reverberated across the baying crowd like rolling thunder. Faultless.

Headband-ed hipsters Hockey topped the undercard. On this performance, however, it cannot be long before these frantic fellows are headlining their own glitzy gigs. ‘Learn to Lose’ is a sprinkly, funky Rapture/Razorlight romp, and ‘Too Fake’ is their first sauntering, snarling single. Hopefully it’ll be the first of many. Expect big things from these pretty Portland punks.

Crisis? What crisis? There’s certainly not one as far as the laid-back boys of Boy Crisis are concerned. Their lackadaisical appearance is matched by their sleazy, sexy beats, shone no brighter than on awesome track ‘L’homme’. Atmospheric synths coy and giggle throughout. “You can do me like Bruce Springsteen” titillates one line in ‘Dressed to Digress’. Aces.